Despite early playoff exit, Bruins don't plan major changes

Friday

May 16, 2014 at 10:28 PMMay 16, 2014 at 10:31 PM

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli doesn't think a disappointing, second-round loss to the Canadiens is cause for sweeping changes next season. The GM included himself among those who underachieved.

Mike Loftus The Patriot Ledger

The Bruins as you know them, and have known them for several years, aren’t going anywhere.

At least, most of them aren’t. Not right away, anyway.

That was the message delivered on Friday by general manager Peter Chiarelli – and seconded by head coach Claude Julien – after the B’s held exit interviews prior to their dispersal for a disappointing and unexpectedly long off-season.

“This is a very good team,” Chiarelli said. “There are some tweaks (to make) here and there, but it is a very good team. … We’re not going to make too many changes to this team, but there will be changes.”

Chiarelli blamed himself for not making enough changes at the NHL trade deadline, at which he acquired veteran depth defensemen Andrej Meszaros and Corey Potter. Both are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on July 1, and neither is likely to be re-signed.

“We have a young back line now,” Chiarelli said of the Bruins’ defense corps, which had four players in their first full NHL seasons – Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug, Matt Barkowski and Kevan Miller – play regularly after veterans Dennis Seidenberg (knee) and Adam McQuaid (quad, ankle) sustained what proved to be season-ending injuries. “I’m partially to blame if you want to assign blame.

“Maybe we didn’t get enough at the deadline. Maybe we over-estimated the youth.”

While the less-experienced defensemen were exposed at points during the Bruins’ seven-game, Round 2 elimination at the hands of the Canadiens, Chiarelli also said “a bunch of players didn’t perform at the level they should have” against the Habs.

“I could name five, 10 players,” the GM added. “I could name myself, because we didn’t get the right defensemen (at the deadline).”

Chiarelli’s focus now turns to bringing the right players back next season. There’s not as much contract negotiation ahead as in some other off-seasons, particularly when it comes to unrestricted free agents.

The biggest name on a short list is Jarome Iginla, who tied Patrice Bergeron for the team lead with 30 regular-season goals and was No. 1 in the post-season with five. Iginla, 37 next season, and enforcer/Merlot Line right wing Shawn Thornton (also 37 next year), had brief discussions on Friday with Chiarelli, who asked both to “give me a couple weeks to digest what’s happened, and then we’ll go from there.”

Chiarelli’s comments about “trends in hockey, and the fisticuffs … we’re trending away from that style,” could have been a hint that Thornton may not be offered a contract for an eighth season in Boston.

Iginla, meanwhile, said “there’s lots of reasons I’d be very fortunate, if the opportunity’s there and it works out that there’s a deal to be back,” but hesitated when asked if he’d be willing to do so on the same type of one-year, incentive-laden contract he signed as a free agent last summer.

“I don’t know, as far as trying to negotiate publicly and stuff,” he said. “With moving, family and stuff, it’s … yeah, I’m going to stay away from (further comment).”

As part of personnel decisions he’ll discuss with his hockey staff, Chiarelli said the B’s would look at changes in the NHL landscape – particularly when it comes to new conference and divisional alignments that guarantee at least one playoff round against teams from within the division. The Bruins faced two built-for-speed Atlantic Division rivals – the Red Wings (4-1 win in Round 1) and Canadiens – this post-season.

“That’s on the list of topics for me to go over and look at, and see what players are available,” Chiarelli said. “It’s something we’re going to look at.”

But the GM said he’s not going to look at a major overhaul of a team he considers “strong down the middle, strong in net, good character, good core, (that) won the President’s Trophy” with league-high totals in points (117) and wins (54).

Julien doesn’t think significant change is necessary, or wise.

“I think we need to look at things we can tweak here and there … make those adjustments,” the coach said. “But if you explode a team that’s pretty good because of a (playoff loss) that is not based on one reason only – that could be dangerous.”